(From the ACA News Report 2005-1)
Many Overseas Americans encountered difficulties in voting in last year's federal elections. Problems with procuring absentee ballots and submitting them prior to deadlines were the most prevalent. Many local voter registration offices in the U.S. dispensed erroneous information regarding the ability of overseas Americans to vote, based on the misinterpretation of residency requirement. ACA and overseas organizations were able to assist many overseas Americans in getting the correct information and absentee ballots allowing many to vote in the 2004 federal elections.
However, among the difficulties faced by many overseas American voters this year there was one that didn't receive much attention. How can first time voters register to vote if they were born outside the United States and never resided there?
Because federal elections take place at the state level, first time voters who were born abroad and never lived in the United States need to find a state back home that will allow them to register. This is where the problem arises.
As many of these new voters discovered during the registration process for last November's election, only 12 of the 50 states today will accept registrations from those who were born abroad but who have never resided in the United States. These 12 states are; Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
New voters, who try to register in one of the other 38 states, may well find that their efforts are unsuccessful, and there is nothing they can do about it. Under current law these 38 States can legally refuse to enroll them given state residence by-laws. Part of the problem is the very ambiguous nature of the definition of "residence" that varies from one state to another.
Estimates this year put the figure of those U.S. Citizens that would have come of age and been able to participate in their first election at approximately 139,000. The United States still expects these same individuals, who cannot vote, to pay federal income taxes. Until this issue is resolved, one way or another, there will remain two distinct classes of U.S. citizens, those who can register and vote and those who cannot.
If you or anyone in your household experienced problems with registering or voting in last year's federal election, please send your comments and questions to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (vote@fvap.ncr.gov). See the following article for information regarding the FVAP 2004 post-election survey.